Boot or shoe and method of forming same.



` I @7 v" Zr.-

W lNoi 665,29. y Patented 1an. l, |90.

T. wATTERs.

BOUT 0R SHOE ANDVMETHUD 0F FDRMING SAME.

(Application led Oct. 31, 1899.;

No Model.)

Nits STATES PATENT Erice.

THOMAS, WATTERS, OF PITTSBRG, PENNSYLVANIA.

Boor on sHoE'AND METHQB oF FoRMlN SAME.

SPECIFGTIQN forming part 'of*Letterslatent=No.v 665,289, dated January 1, 1901. Appumon med caoba 31,1899. serai Namaste. on moda.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that 1, THOMAS WATTERS, a resident ofPittsbur'g, in the countyv of'Allegheny andState of Pennsylvania, have in'- vented a new and usefpl Improvement in Methods of Forming Shoes; and 1 do hereby declare the following to befa full, clear, and' exact description thereof.-

My invention relates to the` formation and attachment of soles to boots and shoes, its obt ject being to form thesole and attach it to the upper at one and the same time.A

My invention consists, generally sta-ted, in,

forming boots or shoes by securing the upper over a suitable last, placing the last. and the upper in a suitable mold, with the lower edges of the upper extending beyond the edges of the lasi and away from its bottom, and molding the plastic material .upon the same, said 'molded sole enveloping the project- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a shoeformed in accordance with my invention, a portion of the sole and upper being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the shoe and mold, dac., showing the manner in which 'the sole is formed and attached to the upper.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mold, showing the two parts thereof closedin full linesand separated or open in dotted lines; .and Fig. 4: is a detail -of a portionof the Lipper.

Like numerals indicate like figure of the drawings. v

As shown in Fig. 1, the sole 4 is attached to the upper by embedding a portion of the lower edges thereof in the sole, as indicated at .5, the sole being molded from plasticmaterial, which readily allows of such attachment, and being molded directly to the upper. An insolo 6 is attached to the inside of sole 4, said insole adhering thereto when Vthe solo is in its plastic state.` The insole also serves the purpose of preventing the plastic material from coming in contact with and adhering to thelasttas will appear hereinafter.

In practicing myinvention .I first form the parts in eafh upper in the usual manner and place thesame over a suitable last. I prefer to form the last `in sections, lso that said sections may be forced 5 5 apart to stretch or last the upper at the timer of. inserting the upper in the mold, the last and mold serving to firmly hold-the upper inl proper positionduring 'the prrmessof mblding the sole thereto. `For this reason I have shown. 6o the last as composed of the bottom plate 7 and the' body portionor sections 8 and 9. Any number of sections maybe used as may be found most-practical. The sections 8 and 9 of the llast may be separated by the wedge 65 l0, so as tostretch the upper over the same, the body 11 of said'wedge being used as a support foi-'said last 'during the subsequent molding and pressing operatiou,'to be hereinafter described.- A further description of thelast is 7o deemed unnecessary, as said vlast forms ho part of in yinvention. Any suitable last, however, may be used.' The upper is so formed as to leave a por'- tion of thelower or ragged edges extending 75 b eyond the last when stretched overthe same, said projecting edges corresponding to the rportions, before referred to.

The projectingr edges .5 of the upper are preferably perforated, as shown at 5u, Fig. 4. 8o During the 4molding of the sole these perforations will be filled with the plastic material-L an-d the sole and upper more firmly united.

For the purpose of molding the sole I provide the mold 12, comprising two parts 13 and 85 14, whichrmay be separated, as shown in dotvted lines, Fig. 3, for the purpose 'of inserting -the last and. upper. Extending up from the plates 1,3 and 14 of the mold are 'the anges 5 15, which form the mold pro per, and extending 9o around inside of said mold, at practically the lower edge thereof, is the annular inwardly, projecting wedge-shaped ledge or flange 16.

A plunger 17, the lower surface 18 of which conforms to the shape to be given tothe sole, 95 'is supported above the mold in such manner that it may be lowered into the mold. The two parts 13 and 14,-of the mold rest. upon a suitable tab1e,vas indicated at 19,' FigfZ. After lthe upper has been formed' and placed over 10o vthe last the whole is inserted in the mold, the ytwo parts of the mold being separated for the insertion of said last and upper. The mold is then c1o`sed and the Wedge 10 forced up between the movable parts of the lust, separating said parts and stretching the upper. The lower end of the upper is firmly held between the sole-plate 7 of the last andthe fiange 16 ofthe mold, causing the projecting edges 5 of th'e upper to incline inwardly in position to be wholly enveloped bythe plastic material during the subsequent molding thereof. An insole 6, formed of any suitable material properly shaped, is then placed upon the exposed surface of the last, the edges being secured, if desired, to the inside of the projecting edges 5 of the upper by means of any suitable adhesive material. A sufficient quantity of the .plastic material from which the sole is to be formed is then placed within the mold andthe plunger 17 forced down upon the same, co1n pressingr said plastic material and causing it to conform to the shape of the mold, the outer surface of the sole taking the shape of the lower surface of the plunger. By this means the req'uired shape is given to the sole,the plastic material entering the offset 20, provided in the bottom of plunger 17, thus forming the heel 21, and the thinner portion 22 of said sole being formed beneath the portion 18 ofthe plunger. After the plastic material has been sufficiently compressed the plunger 17 is withdrawn from the mold and the plastic material allowed to set. The mold is then opened, the shoe and last removed therefrom, and the last removed from the shoe. It may be found convenient, however, to leave the last in the shoe for the further finishing or polishing thereof.

By reason ofthe plastic condition of thematerial from which the sole is formed the insole adheres to said sole at the time of formingthe same and the subsequentdryingthereof firmly unites the upper to the sole, the por-- fion 5 of theupper being firmly embedded in the sole, the plastic material entering the perforations 5 in said projecting edges. Any suitable plastic material may be used for forming'the sole, such as Xelton, velverill, 65e.

I am thus enabled to produce a shoe much lnore cheaply and quickly than has heretofore been possible and at the same time by forming the sole and heel in one piece I overcome the possibility of the heel pulling loose, as f often occursin the case of shoes manufactu red by the methods heretofore in use.

The molding of the sole directly to the upper, and the consequent embedding of aportiou of the lower end of said upper in the sole, allows of a much stronger union of the two than can result from stitching or pegging, as in the present form of construction.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is-

l. The method of forming boots and shoes which consists in placing an upper on a last with its edges projecting beyond the edges of the last and away from the bottom thereof,

forming and stretching the upper, moldinga body of plastic material about the projecting edges of the upper to form a heel and sole in which the projecting edges of the upper are embedded and finally allowing said plastic material to harden.

2. The method of forming boots and shoes which consists in placing an upper on a last with its edges projecting beyond the edges of the last and away from the bottom thereof, forming and stretching the upper, placing an insole on the last within the projecting edges of the upper, molding a body'of plastic material about the projecting edges of the upper to form a heel and sole in which the projecting edges of the upper are embedded, and finally allowing said plastic material to harden.

As a new article of manufacture, a boot or shoe provided with a composition heel and sole molded` in one piece and having the edges of the upper embedded therein at an angle to the face of the sole.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a boot or shoe comprising a composition heel. and sole molded in one piece and an upper hav.- ing perforated edges that are embedded in the heel and sole piece and constitute the only means of fastening said parts together. 

